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Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber is excited to see what his loose trio can do in the second test against Wales.

Nienaber’s loose trio selection – former World Rugby Player of the year Pieter-Steph du Toit sandwiched between URC Players Player of the season Evan Roos and the Vodacom Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee is not only one which is exciting the coach, but also fans ahead of a test which has a lot of talking points.

Coetzee’s form this season has been breathtaking, and the Bulls captain led his team to the final of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, while scoring tries and topping a number of stats in the competition along the way.

For many a year Coetzee has been one of those almost-men, the type that perform so well but seem to be unlucky when the World Cup teams have been chosen.

He missed out on 2015 and 2019 by a whisker and has not been as successful in keeping a place in the Bok team.

In Belfast he is a club legend and he is fast becoming the same at Loftus Versfeld, and while the Boks have been sometimes criticised about their lack of opportunities for young players, Coetzee is the older player that deserves a chance.

Then there is Roos, irrepressible in the URC and a player that was literally kicking the door down to be selected. While Jasper Wiese was given the task in the first test, Roos is the fans’ favourite and his selection is bound to be one of the most popular choices for the Boks this season.

The big DHL Stormers forward has made a name for himself with his speed with ball in hand, coupled with a physicality that few players possess.

Inbetween is Du Toit, a player who is searching for a bit of redemption after a season that he missed most of due to injury.

Out of sight in Japan he has slowly clawed his way back to fitness, missing out on the first test because his shoulder wasn’t quite right and now coming back to the Bok squad at seven.

If Du Toit is close to his form that made him the best player in the world, the Boks need not worry, but it is likely that he will ease himself into the role, now being a senior player in the side.

And his coach Nienaber is looking forward to him passing on some of his leadership experience to the young Roos.

“It is exciting and the thing I expect from them – if you look at Pieter-Steph, he is almost the senior partner there in terms of recent experience.

He was with the side last year with the British and Irish Lions and more recently for a long time,” Nienaber said at the team announcement.

“Marcell is an experienced guy – he has around 30 test caps, so he knows what international rugby is about but he hasn’t been in our environment since 2019 and then Evan, who has obviously been on form and playing well for his franchise in the URC.

“Pieter-Steph will probably calm them down and calm the nerves, Marcell knows what it is about at international level and then feeding the experience into Evan.”

Nienaber explained that while the Bok selection was always a contentious one in the public arena, the management were constantly keeping tabs on close to 100 players at all times, and had in depth analysis on all of them, giving them a database and a firm handle on who is in form and who isn’t.

And for those who doubt their selection policy, read on, because it is clear that a firm selection policy, backed by evidence based stats and a belief in the players they select has worked well for this management side thus far.

“We always say we probably follow closely – and when I say closely I mean every pass, every tackle.

We do a detailed analysis on players, between 60-70 and then there is a broader group which we look at – a fringe group – about 100.

“Then there is always – and we use the term – if a guy kicks the door down, we will reward form.

I think that is what we are trying to do.

In saying that you always have to look at the squad and the balance in the squad.

In terms of youth, experience, guys you have worked with before, guys who have performed for you before in big games.

“We don’t just throw guys away who have done it for us before because we know form is temporary but class is forever.

We know classy players always come through in big games.

We don’t throw away guys who have done it for us before but in the same breath if a guy kicks the door down, we won’t just bank on the older guys who have done it for us before.

We try and strike a balance there.”

This team selection seems to have surprised some, but in essence the plan was there all along.

What comes next is up to the players and how they handle the belief the coaching side has placed in them.

– Supersport